[In my scenario below, I was thinking about a share of the equity upon refi (what @Jack Pasmore called "the kicker" or share of the upside) since I don't think the seller would agree the property values at only $450K, even though that's what the rent and NOI say]@Jeremy Dugan In my experience, such a "kicker" is only present when the other party is an "investor" rather than the "lender".

Those whose experience in syndications or in real estate investing started in 2011 forward have no idea what a bad market does.

You don't need to know everything to get started; you need a foundation to build on, and the rest will come through experience and then refining your education.You can build a basic understanding of investing in 3-6 months.

Made a decent profit for my first experience Lessons learned?

Plus, I get to experience all kind of great people, food and culture in the meanwhile. 

Investing close to home allows you to gain hands-on experience, learn the ropes, and be more involved in the day-to-day.

I’ve been coaching new investors for a while and many lack funds to get started but find both the lack of knowledge, experience, and funds, often derails them. 

So many variables can turn a deal sideways from 1 hour to the next - i.e. inspection findings, title issues, contracts, financing issues, taxes, dept. of buildings/local municipalities, etc.I'm glad to hear you made it through the challenges, and it sounds like you'll be able to leverage this experience as you grow your portfolio.All the best to you along your journey!

In my experience, most properties that go to auction end up overpriced so I'd be prepared to attend a LOT in order to get something that worked on paper.When I attended my first market auction with an experienced agent the advice he gave me was to figure out my maximum beforehand and stick to it (Seems obvious but people get caught up in winning).

Your experience was exactly mine.